Sanjay Dutt’s pardon plea rejected by Maharashtra governor

Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao has rejected a plea for pardon for Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who will continue to serve the remainder of his sentence at a Pune jail, official sources said on Thursday.

The governor rejected a plea by former retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju in March 2013. It had come in the form of letters addressed to the president, the (then) prime minister, union home minister and other top officials.

An official said, “On September 15, Governor Rao declined the appeal and has forwarded his recommendation to the state government for further action.”

Earlier, Dutt had himself declared that he would not seek pardon from any quarter and abide by the Supreme Court verdict sending him to jail to serve the remainder of his five-year term at Yerawada Central Jail (YCJ), Pune.

According to current indications, Dutt is likely to complete his sentence and walk out of prison by the year-end or early 2016.

Dutt was convicted for his role in the 12 March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and after his arrest in 1996, had spent 18 months in jail before getting bail.